Bakery Product Texture Measurement and Analysis

Revenue of the global bakery goods manufacturing industry has risen modestly over the past five years to around $408bn, despite having faced numerous challenges. 

However, demand for bakery products has stagnated in the mature markets of Western Europe and North America, causing manufacturers to seek opportunities in high-growth regions; in coming years, the industry is anticipated to grow more aggressively, supported by the growth of emerging markets.

The industry is in the mature stage of its life cycle. One characteristic of a mature industry is that it is expected to expand more slowly than global GDP. In the 10 years to 2020, industry value added (IVA), which measures an industry's contribution to the global economy, is projected to rise at an average annual rate of 2.6%, while over the same 10-year period world GDP is forecast to rise at an annualised rate of 3.4%. 

Over the past five years, manufacturers have introduced a variety of new products, many aimed at appealing to health-conscious consumers in saturated markets. Health and wellness is key to adding value to bread, volumes of which are declining in mature markets in the western hemisphere. To boost sales, manufacturers are looking into merging taste and health through adding fibre and vegetable or a mix of protein and fibre.

Meanwhile, indulgence and affordability spurs growth in other product types. Pastries is the fastest growing category among baked goods, accounting for almost 80% of absolute volume growth over 2008-2013. Product innovation and increased penetration in fast growing regions such as Asia Pacific and Latin America are the main drivers of this increase.

The rheological properties of dough, which govern how it will respond to the production process, are determined almost entirely during the early stages. Many of these properties are a result of ingredient interactions that occur during fermentation and dough mixing. Nearly all of the ingredients affect the rheology of a dough to a certain extent, but most of properties are derived from the flour, water, yeast and air, while minor ingredients, such as dough conditioners, salt, fats, enzymes, and emulsifiers, have influence to a lesser degree.

Once a dough is mixed, its final rheological characteristics are set. This is not to say that the dough does not change during further processing; in fact, its fundamental mechanical properties change substantially. Rather, nothing further can be added to the dough to alter those initial characteristics. Any adjustments that are needed to correct processing problems must be made in the settings of the processing equipment, or in the time spent during various stages.

Although baked products exist in a myriad of forms and with a wide range of desirable properties, various standard and widely accepted tests are available, using the TA.XTplus texture analyser, for the assessment of rheological properties of both dough and the finished baked products which we all know and enjoy.

The ability to assess and quantify properties as firmness, springiness and brittleness has been a major influence in the development of new products within the bakery world. The assurance of achieving a texture which will both please the consumer and enhance the ease of production - by the routine use of texture analysis - is of huge benefit to manufacturers everywhere.

Watch the video below to see a summary of the types of testing possibilities that are available for the measurement of bakery products.

You can also visit our website's Bakery Applications page...